Typographical distributing machine



Oct. 20, 1931. p KINGSBURY 1,828,419

TYPOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 23, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 o HII ""Ulm Oct. 20, 1931.

G. KINGSBURY TYPOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 25, 1929 a Sheets-Sheet 2 f 1 YENTOR ATTO NEYS Oct. 20, 1931. s. P. KINGSBURY TYPOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 23, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 awawodww a u u Patented Oct. 20, 1931 UNITE-D PATENT OFFICE GEORGE :P. KINGSBnRY, or norms, Yonx, nssrenon T0 nnncnnrnntnn LI'NO- rrYrn COMPANY, A oonronarton or new YORK TYPOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTING MACHINE Application flied November 23,1929. 'SeriatNo. 409,220.

This invention relates to; typographical machines, such as linotyp'e machines ofthe general organization represented ,in U. S. Letters Patent .to O. Mergenthaler, N0. 436,- 532, \whereincirculating matrices are released from a magazineinthe order in which their characters are to appear inprnit'andthcn assembled in line, the-composed line transferredto the face of a slottedgmold, the mold filled with molten metal toform a slug or linotype against the matrices which produce the type charactersthereon, and the matrices thereafter returned through distributing mechanism to the magazine from which they started. 7

Many modern machines of this type are equipped with a series of main magazines, which are adapted to contain the ordinary text fonts, and with one or more supplemental or auxiliary magazines arranged alongside the main magazines, andwhichare adapted to contain the larger head letter or display fonts, the distributing mechanism such cases being-extendedto the right so that; the

inatri-ccs maybe distributed thereby into both the main and auxiliary magazines, In these machines, the number of distributing combinations available (being. based onthe sevenrib system) isilimitedto one hundred twentyfour, ninety of which are utilize'd in the distribution of the matrices comprising the ordinary text fonts and the remaining thirty-four of which are utilized inv the distribution of the matrices of tlie head letter or display fronts. The capacity of the auxiliary maga- :zines is,therefore,greatly restricteddhe fonts therein containedfbeing limited to. the upper case characters. and numerals. v

The presentinvention 1s intendedtoover- .come these restrictions and contemplates means wherebythe number of distributing combinations may be greatly increased or doubled if desired, so that run; or complete sets of display matrices may be carried inthe auxiliary magazines, as well asrfull or complete setsof ordinarytext fonts in. the main magazines, andhthis withoutinvol ving any departure from the regular seven-rih system or any change in thestandard combinations of the matrices or distributorabar. To, this operative position, the matrices will end, the distributor bar is formed withntwo duplicate sense of matrix releasing cornblnations, one for the main magazines and the other for the auxiliary magazines, and means are provided to permlt' or prevent matrices delivered to the bar from being, released by main senies of combinations and-movable conointly into and out of enga ing relat on to the upper projectin t ears o matricessupwhen the rails are out of be dropped from the first series of combinations ported by the bar into amainmagazine, whereas whenstherails are operative posltlon, the matriceswill be I carried across thebar and dropped from the second series of combinations into an auxiliary magazine. s s

In the accompanying drawings the inventionis shown merely in preferred form and by way of example and as applied tothe particular kindof machine mentioned, but obviously many changes and variations may be;made therein and in its mode of application which will still be comprised within its spirit, It should, therefore-be understood thatthe invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment, except'insofar as such limitations are specified m n; claims.

Referring to the drawings v i Fig. l is a frontelevation of the upper portion of alinotype machine embodying the present improvements;

2. is anenlarged sectionthroughthe distributing mechanism showing the means for adjusting, the; matrix sustaining rails;

, Fig.3 is a top plan view of the arts shown in .Fig. 1' with the distributor supporting frame removed; and I Fig.4 is afront, elevation, partly in. sec- I tion, of the parts shown in Fig.- 2, and illustratino; the two series. of corresponding matgin,releasing combinations of; the distributor In 1, the machine is-shown as equipped with a series of superposed main magazines A, and a second series of auxiliary magazines A the two series being arranged side by side or in tandem. The main magazines A are provided with ninety-one grooves or channels to adapt them to contain matrices X of the regular ninety-character'text fonts, while the auxiliary magazines A are provided with seventy-two or fifty-five grooves or channels to adapt them to contain matrices X of the regular head letter or display fonts. As will later appear, the auxiliary magazines could be provided with as many different matrix channels as the main magazines, whether the number be ninety as usual or one hundred twenty-four.

In the present embodiment, the matrices X, as they are released from the main magazines A, pass onto the constantly driven inclined belt B, which delivers them directly to the assembler C wherein they are composed in line under the influence of a star wheel C against an upstanding line resistent finger C whereas the matrixes X as they are released from the auxiliary magazines A, pass onto a separate inclined belt B from which they are delivered to the assembler C by means of an intermediate horizontal belt B This novel arrangement of the conveyor belts is intended to permit the assembling of the head letter or display matrices at a maximum speed without danger of transposition, the matrices in the course of composition being first directed by the inclined belt B onto the receiving end of the horizontal belt B one after another in the order of their release, and then delivered by the latter belt in the same order to the assembler C. After composition, the line is transferred to the mold (not shown) for casting and thereafter lifted to the distributing mechanism, which sorts them according to character and drops them into the magazine entrances A for return to their appropriate magazine channels, all as is well understood in the art.

The distributor proper (see Fig. 2) comprises the usual ribbed or permuted distributor bar D, which supports the matrices by their combination webs w, and the associated set of conveying screws D which advances the matrices by their projecting ears 0& along the bar. The distributor bar D (best shown in Fig. 4) is formed with two successive groups or series of distributing combinations d 03 the first or main series (Z at the left being adapted to release the matrixes X of the regular fonts into the main magazines A and hence corresponding in number of combinations to the different matrix channels formed in each of said main magazines, and the second or auxiliary series 03 at the right being adapted to release the matrices X of the display fonts into the auxiliary magazines A and hence corresponding in number of combinations to the different matrix chan-' nels formed in each of said auxiliary maga zines.

Since the total number of different releasing combinations required for the two kinds of fonts herein employed (162 in one case and 145 in the other) greatly exceeds the number provided by the standard distributor bar (124), it is proposed, according to the present invention, to duplicate the matrix releasing combinations in the two series d 03 to Whatever extent may be required, and to provide means for carrying the auxiliary matrices X entirely across the grst series al and render them subject to distribution solely by the second series (F. The means employed for this purpose, as best shown in Fig. 2, consists of a pair of rails E formed on semi-tubular rods E which partially envelop the two upper distributor screws D These rods E (see Fig. 3) are pivotally mounted by end supporting members E on the spindles (Z of the said distributor screws D so that, by rocking the rods about their pivotal axes, the rails E may be moved into and out of engaging relation with the upper projecting ears m of matrices passing along the bar. The rails E, in the present instance, are solid or continuous and are made sufiicient-ly long to extend throughout the first series of releasing combinations (Z terminat-- ing (see Figs. 1 and 4) somewhat beyond the last combination of the series al but at a point slightly in advance of the first combination of the series (13 Consequently,-when the rails E occupy their active position (Fig. 2), matrices undergoing distribution will be sustained by the rails during their travel across that section of the distributor bar devoted to the first series of releasing combinations (Z and will be caused to drop as usual according to their characters from the second series of re leasing combinations (Z On the other hand, when the rails E occupy their inactive position (as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2) matrices undergoing distribution will receive no support from the rails and will be released according to character solely from the first series of combinations al As a result of this arrangement, it is merely necessary to give the tubular rods E a partial turn in one direction to bring about the distribution of the display matrices X into the auxiliary magazine A or to give them a similar turn in the opposite direction to bring about the distribution of the regular matrices X into the main magazines A.

In providing for the adjustment of the rods E and rails E, a toggle device is employed, which is arranged in a transverse cut or recess (i formed in the upper edge of the I distributor bar D about midway of its length.

The toggle device (as clearly shown in Figs. 251ml 3) consists of a pair of horizontally disposed lmks F F connected at their intier ends to centrally pivoted rocker plate F and at their outer ends to upright arms E E rising from the. tubular rods E The rocker plate F is mountedion a screw stud F fastened into one of' the side walls of the notch d and is formed with a forwardly projecting actuating arm F by which the toggles may be extended and collapsed. A pull sprmg F, anchored to the distributor beam 0 and which is connected to a lug e protruding from: the outer surface of the tubular rod E at the rear, tends constantly to rock the plat-e11 through the arm Eand link F in a clockwise direction to collapse the toggles. The arrangementis such that, when the actuating arm F is pulled downwardly against. the tensionof the spring F to extend the toggles, the rods IE will be turned to bring the rails E into action (see the full line showing in Fig. 2) and, when the arm F is raised to collapse the toggles, the rods will beturned in the: opposite direction to move the rails out of action (see the dotted line showing in Fig. 2) In order to locate the rails E in their adjusted positions, the movement of the arm F in both directions is limited by a paid of stop fingers (Z (Z the finger 6Z5 being secured to the upper edge of the distributor bar and adapted to stop the arm F in its raised position, and the finger (Z being securedto the front face of the distributor bar and adapted to stop said arm its lower position. In this connection, it may be stated that as the arm F engages the stop: linger d, the rocker plate will have just passed dead center, so that the toggles are thus locked in opposition to the spring F in their extended condition and the rails E maintained in their'active position as determined by the stop finger d Any suitable means (manual or automatic) maybe employed for operating the toggle device to effect the adjustmentsof the rails E,

but the means herein shown comprises a long a vertical link G {Fig 1), which is connected at its upper end to the actuating arm F and at its lower end to an arm G extending rearwardly from a short horizontal rock shaft G the latter being mounted in a fixed bearing bracket G and controlled by a key button or thumb piece G located conveniently adjacent the keyboard H. The key button G6 is carried by a centrally pivoted fore-and-aft lever G which is mounted and guided in the key- 1 board frame and connected by a short verticallink G to a'crank arm Gr extending forwardly from the rock shaft G By depressingthe: button G, the rock shaft G through the lever G and the connected crank arm G will be turned in one direction topull the link G downwardly in extending the toggles, and by raising the key button G the rock shaft G will be turned in the; opposite direction to force the link G upwardly in collapsing the toggles. l

A by depressing the key button G. In

other words, this operation, through the connections above described, extends the toggle links'F F and moves the rails E- to and locks them their active position, thereby shutting off the first or main series of bar combinations d and bringing into use the second or auxiliary series of combinations d Matrices X of the display fonts entering the distributor will thusbe maintained by the rails E in engagement with thedistributor bar D until they pass into engagement with that section thereof provided with the combinations d when they will be released according to character into thecorresponding channels of the auxiliary magazine A Conversely, when the regular or text fonts are selected, the key button Gr is raised to collapse the toggle. links andcause the spring F to move the rails E into and hold them in their inactive position, thereby rendering operative the first or main series of bar combinations d to the exclusion of the second or auxiliary series of combinations (Z Matrices X of the regular or text fonts entering the distributor under such conditions will be released according to character from the combinations (Z intothe corresponding channels of the active main magazine A. r

In the accompanylng drawings, the invention, as previously stated, is shown only in preferred. form by way of example, and as applied to a machine equipped with tandem magazines and provided with a distributor bar formed with two series of'releasing combinatio'ns, but it will be obvious thatthe'in- 1 combinations, as forexample a bar having only two like combinations. The extent of e, the adjustable rails in such instances would,

of course, depend upon the relative location of the duplicate combinations on the bar.

So far. as the operation of the rails is concerned, this could be controlled automatically by the mechanical selection of the magazines or by the matrices themselves as they are moved onto or along the distributor bar. Moreover, while the distributorbar herein is shown as provided with but two groups or series of matrix releasing combinations, it could be provided with a'greater number of groups or series simply by adding additional matrix sustaining rails. Thus, if the distributor bar had three groupsof combinations, two sets of rails could be employed to control the selection of one or another of the groups. In' this way, the number of disaccording to the standard seven-rib system) could be'multiplied to any extent desired. Of: course, the invention is not limited in its application to a seven-rib distributor bar, as it would be applicable to any form of bar having successive groups of duplicate combinations, but, as the commercial machines are equipped with seven-rib distributor bars to handle the standard seven-tooth matrices, the advantages of the invention become more pronounced by reference to the old system. These and other changes or modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art and still be comprised within the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A typographical distributing mechanism including, in combination, a distributor bar formed with a plurality of like matrix releasing combinations located at different points along thebar, and adjustable means associated with the distributor bar whereby matrices having corresponding combinations may be released in course of distribution by one or another of the said releasing combinations, as required.

2. A typographical distributing mechanism including, in combination, a distributor bar formed with successive groups or series of matrix releasing combinations, means for propelling the matrices along the bar, and means, adjustable into or out of action, for sustaining matrices while passing the combinations of the first group, so as to allow them to be distributed by the combinations of the second group.

3. A typographical distributing mechanism including, in combination, a distributor bar formed with successive groups of matrix releasing combinations, means for propelling the matrices along the bar, a pair of adjustable rails for sustaining matrices as they pass the first group of combinations, and means for adjusting the rails into or out of action, as required.

4:. A typographical distributing mechanism including, in combination, a distributor bar formed with successive groups or series of matrix releasing combinations, means for propelling the matrices along the bar, a pair of matrix sustaining rails pivotally mounted and adapted conjointly to sustain the matrices by their projecting ears as they pass the first series of releasing combinations, and means for rocking the rails into or out of action, as required.

5. A typographical distributing mechanism including, in combination, a distributor bar formed with successive groups of matrix releasing combinations, the combinations of the first group being duplicated in whole or in part in the second group, means for propelling the matrices along the bar, a pair of adjustable rails associated with the first group of combinations, and means for adjusting the rails conjointly into and out of action, the said rails being adapted in their active position to sustain the matrices so that they will reengage the distributor bar in advance of the second series of releasing combinations for distribution thereby.

6. In a typographical distributing machine adapted to be equipped with different sets of matrices, the combination of a distrubutor bar formed with successive groups or series of matrix releasing combinations, means for propelling the matrices along the bar, and means controlled by a finger key for selecting either of said series of combinations for use to the exclusion of the other, according to the particular set of matrices to be distributed.

7 In a typographical distributing machine adapted to be equip ed with different sets of matrices, the com ination of a distributor bar formed with successive groups or series of matrix releasing combinations, means for propelling the matrices along the bar, and matrix supporting means, adjustable at will into or out of action, associated with the first group of releasing combinations, said means being adapted in its active position to sustain the matrices of certain sets so that they will reengage the bar for release by the second group of bar combinations, and adapted in its inactive position to permit the release of matrices of other sets by the first group of bar combinations.

8. In a typographical machine adapted to be equipped with different sets of matrices, the combination of a distributor bar presenting in efiect two distributing sections, one constituting a continuation of the other end each formed with a group or series of matrix releasing combinations, the combinations of the second section being duplicates in whole or in part of those of the first section, means for propelling the matrices along the bar, and means associated with the first section of the distributor bar for supporting the matrices of certain sets so that they will pass into engagement with the second section of the distributor bar, said means being adjustable into or out of action according to the particular set of matrices to be distributed.

9. In a typographical machine equipped with a main magazne and an auxiliary magazine arranged side by side or in tandem and containing different sets of matrices, the combination of a distributor bar formed with two successive groups or series of matrix releasing combinations, means for propelling the matrices along the bar, the first series of releasing combinations being located in operative relation to the channels of the main magazine, and the second series of releasing combinations being located in operative relation to the channels of the auxiliary magazine, and adjustable means associated with the distributor bar and adapted in one position to carry the matrices from the auxiliary magazine across the first series of releasing combinations and deliver them for distribution to the second series of releasing com'binations, and adapted in another position to permit the distribution of the matrices from the main magazine by the first series of releasing combinations.

10. A typographical distributing mecha nism including, in combinaton, a distributor bar formed with two successive groups or series of matrix releasing combinations, two upper and one lower distributor screws for propelling the matrices along the bar, and a pair of matrix sustaining rails formed on tubular rods journaled on the trunnions of the upper distributor screws and extending along the opposite sides of that section of the bar formed with the first group of matrix releasing combinations, said rods being rotatable conjointly to swing the rails into and out of engaging relation to matrices supported by the distributor bar, for the purpose described.

11. A machine according to claim 9, equipped with an assembling mechanism for composing matrices from both magazines into a common assembler, such mechanism including a single conveyor belt to receive matrices from the main magazine and deliver them directly into the assembler, and two distinct conveyor belts to receive matrices from the auxiliary magazine and deliver them into the assembler.

12. A machine according to claim 9, equipped with an assembling mechanism for composing matrices from both magazines into a common assembler, such mechanism including an inclined conveyor belt to receive matrices from the main magazine and deliver them' directly into the assembler, an

inclined conveyor belt to receive matrices from the auxiliary magazine, and a second substantially horizontal conveyor belt to receive the matrices from the last-mentioned conveyor belt and deliver them into the assembler.

13. In a typographical machine, the combination of two matrix magazines arranged side by side or in tandem, an assembler wherein matrices of both magazines are composed in line, and independent conveyor belts arranged to receive matrices from the dif-. ferent magazines and separately deliver them into the assembler.

14. In a typographical machine, the combination of a main matrix magazine, an auxiliary matrix magazine arranged at the side thereof or in tandem thereto, an assembler wherein matrices from both magazines are composed in line, a conveyor belt to receive matrices from the main magazine and deliver them into the assembler, and an independent conveyor belt arrangement to receive matrices from the auxiliary magazine and deliver them into the assembler without having totraverse the belt for the main magazine.

15. In a typographical machine, the combination of a main matrix magazine, an auxiliary matrix magazine arranged at the side thereof or in tandem thereto, an assembler wherein matrices from both magazines are composed in line, an inclinedconveyor belt to receive matrices from the main maga 

